If you work in the retail industry, you are probably familiar with this marketing strategy, which is based on connecting two brands via the same profile of customers. For example, Nike and Apple, developed an ipod application that would allow runners to log their runs, create music tracks based on their work out and even connect with the running community to measure themselves against others. Car companies are familiar with this concept and regularely develop version that are associated with same profile customers, lets say Subaru and Eddie Bauer for the outdoor experience
Since the “World Series” are back in New York (the equivalent of the Champions’ League Final for soccer, I noticed that the two New York franchises, the Mets and the Yankees have granted food court licenses to two different brands in their newly built ballpark.
One is Nathan’s, a long-standing feature of the New York City landscape that is also known for its annual hot dog eating contest at the Coney Island amusement park in Brooklyn. Very New York and very Blue Collar.
Another new vendor granted at CitiField, the Mets ballpark (a branding tactic consisting of name rights for stadiums in the US and fast-expanding in Europe) is ShakeShack. This is a more upscale eatery, that originated at Madison Square Park in New York City’s Flatiron district. “The Shack” has most Flatironers call it, was created by Danny Meyer and His “11 Madison” Restaurant located accross the park.
It feature more sophisticated hot dogs and burgers and is mainly attracting young urbanite and bankers working around the area.
I am not a native New Yorker, so I cannot claim to be a huge fan of one or the other baseball teams, but with time I found myself following the Mets more than the Yankees.
Now the interesting part is, I always loved Nathan’s hot dog because of their association to New York City, but I don’t really connect with the “Yankee” brand. On the other hand, I experienced the “Shack” numerous times, but never connected to the more hot dogs.
I am curious to know if both the mets and the yankees went through a fan-base food habit analysis to determine what brand would be best-suited to connect with their fan fase and their taste or if it was just purely financial opportunity. the first case would tell me that the Mets have a more upscale fan base than the yankee and is percieived as a white colar crowd.
Considering the ticket prices at yankee stadium the perception is the opposite. Interesting brand associations and disconnections.
